Chemokines are chemotactic cytokines, of molecular weight 6-15 kDa, that are released by a wide variety of cells to attract and activate, among other cell types, macrophages, T and B lymphocytes, eosinophils, basophils and neutrophils (reviewed in Luster, New Eng. J. Med., 338, 436-445 (1998); Rollins, Blood, 90, 909-928 (1997); Lloyd, Curr Opin Pharmacol., 3, 443-448 (2003); Murray, Current Drug Targets., 7, 579-588 (2006); Smit, Eur J. Pharmacol., 533, 277-88 (2006)
There are two major classes of chemokines, CXC and CC, depending on whether the first two cysteines in the amino acid sequence are separated by a single amino acid (CXC) or are adjacent (CC). The CXC chemokines, such as interleukin-8 (IL-8), neutrophil-activating protein-2 (NAP2) and melanoma growth stimulatory activity protein (MGSA) are chemotactic primarily for neutrophils and T lymphocytes, whereas the CC chemokines, such as RANTES, MIP-Ia, MIP-1, the monocyte chemotactic proteins (MCP-1, MCP-2, MCP-3, MCP-4, and MCP-5) and the eotaxins (−1, −2, and −3) are chemotactic for, among other cell types, macrophages, T lymphocytes, eosinophils, mast cells, dendritic cells, and basophils. Also in existence are the chemokines lymphotactin-1, lymphotactin-2 (both C chemokines), and fractalkine (a CXXXC chemokine) that do not fall into either of the major chemokine subfamilies.
The chemokines bind to specific cell-surface receptors belonging to the family of G-protein-coupled seventransmembrane-domain proteins (reviewed in Horuk, Trends Pharm. Sci., 15, 159-165 (1994); Murphy, Pharmacol Rev., 54 (2):227-229 (2002); Allen, Annu. Rev. Immunol., 25, 787-820 (2007)) which are termed “chemokine receptors.” On binding their cognate ligands, chemokine receptors transduce an intracellular signal through the associated trimeric G proteins, resulting in, among other responses, a rapid increase in intracellular calcium concentration, activation of G-proteins, changes in cell shape, increased expression of cellular adhesion molecules, degranulation, promotion of cell migration, survival and proliferation. There are at least eleven human chemokine receptors that bind or respond to CC chemokines with the following characteristic patterns: CCR-1 (or “CKR-1” or “CC-CKR-1”) [MIP-Ia, MCP-3, MCP-4, RANTES](Ben-Barruch, et al., Cell, 72, 415-425 (1993), Luster, New Eng. J. Med., 338, 436-445 (1998)); CCR-2A and CCR-2B (or “CKR-2A”/“CKR-2B” or “CC-CKR-2A”/“CC-CKR-2B”) [MCP-1, MCP2, MCP-3, MCP-4, MCP-5] (Charo et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 91, 2752-2756 (1994), Luster, New Eng. J. Med., 338, 436-445 (1998)); CCR3 (or “CKR-3” or “CC-CKR-3”) [eotaxin-1, eotaxin-2, RANTES, MCP-3, MCP-4](Combadiere, et al., J. Biol. Chem., 270, 16491-16494 (1995), Luster, New Eng. J. Med., 338, 436-445 (1998)); CCR-4 (or “CKR-4” or “CC-CKR-4”) [TARC, MIP-Ia, RANTES, MCP-1] (Power et al., J. Biol. Chem., 270, 19495-19500 (1995), Luster, New Eng. J. Med., 338, 436-445 (1998)); CCR-5 (or “CKR-5” OR “CCCKR-5”) [MIP-Ia, RANTES, MIP-Ip] (Sanson, et al., Biochemistry, 35, 3362-3367 (1996)); CCR-6 (or “CKR-6” or “CC-CKR-6”) [LARC] (Baba et al., J. Biol. Chem., 272, 14893-14898 (1997)); CCR-7 (or “CKR-7” or “CC-CKR-7”) [ELC] (Yoshie et al., J. Leukoc. Biol. 62, 634-644 (1997)); CCR-8 (or “CKR-8” or “CC-CKR-8”) [1-309, TARC, MIP-1p] (Napolitano et al., J. Immunol., 157, 2759-2763 (1996), Bernardini et al., Eur. J. Immunol., 28, 582-588 (1998)); CCR-10 (or “CKR-10” or “CC-CKR-10”) [MCP-1, MCP-3] (Bonini et al, DNA and Cell Biol., 16, 1249-1256 (1997)); and CCR31 (or “CKR-11” or “CC-CKR-11”) [MCP-1, MCP-2, MCP-4](Schweickart et al., J Biol Chem, 275 9550-9556 (2000)).
In addition to the mammalian chemokine receptors, the Decoy receptors CCX-CKR, D6 and DARC/Duffy as well proteins expressed by mammalian cytomegaloviruses, herpes viruses and poxviruses, exhibit binding properties of chemokine receptors (reviewed by Wells and Schwartz, Curr. Opin. Biotech., 8, 741-748 (1997); Comerford, Bioessays., 29(3):237-47 (2007)). Human CC chemokines, such as RANTES and MCP-3, can cause rapid mobilization of calcium via these virally encoded receptors. Receptor expression may be permissive for infection by allowing for the subversion of normal immune system surveillance and response to infection. Additionally, human chemokine receptors, such as CXCR-4, CCR2, CCR3, CCR5 and CCR8, can act as co receptors for the infection of mammalian cells by microbes as with, for example, the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV).
Chemokine receptors have been implicated as being important mediators of inflammatory, infectious, and immunoregulatory disorders and diseases, including asthma and allergic diseases, as well as autoimmune pathologies such as rheumatoid arthritis, Grave's disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and atherosclerosis. For example, the chemokine receptor CCR3 is expressed among others on eosinophils, basophils, TH2 cells, alveolar macrophages, mast cells, epithelial cells, microglia cells, astrocytes and fibroblasts. CCR3 plays a pivotal role in attracting eosinophils to sites of allergic inflammation and in subsequently activating these cells. The chemokine ligands for CCR3 induce a rapid increase in intracellular calcium concentration, increased GTP exchange of G-proteins, increased ERK phosphorylation, enhanced receptor internalization, eosinophil shape change, increased expression of cellular adhesion molecules, cellular degranulation, and the promotion of migration. Accordingly, agents that inhibit chemokine receptors would be useful in such disorders and diseases. In addition, agents that inhibit chemokine receptors would also be useful in infectious diseases such as by blocking infection of CCR3 expressing cells by HIV or in preventing the manipulation of immune cellular responses by viruses such as cytomegaloviruses.
Therefore, CCR3 is an important target and antagonism of CCR3 is likely to be effective in the treatment of inflammatory, eosinophilic, immunoregulatory and infectious disorders and diseases (Wegmann, Am J Respir Cell Mol. Biol., 36(1):61-67 (2007); Fryer J Clin Invest., 116(1):228-236 (2006); De Lucca, Curr Opin Drug Discov Devel., 9(4):516-524 (2006)
So, the problem underlying the present invention was the provision of CCR3 antagonists, preferred with reduced side effects which are not only potent CCR3-inhibitors, but also are useful for manufacturing a medicament for the prevention and/or treatment of diseases wherein the activity of a CCR3-receptor is involved.
It has been found surprisingly that the substituted piperidines of formula 1 are highly suitable as CCR3 antagonists, having less side effects, e.g. inhibition of norepinephrine (NET), dopamine (DAT) or serotonin reuptake transporters (5-HTT) as described by Watson P S, Bioorg Med Chem. Lett., 16(21):5695-5699 (2006), or inhibition of 5HT2A, 5HT2C or Dopamine D2 receptors as described by De Lucca, J Med. Chem., 48(6):2194-2211 (2005), or inhibition of the hERG channel as described by De Lucca, Curr Opin Drug Discov Devel., 9(4):516-524 (2006), or inhibition of the alpha1B adrenergic receptor.
Nevertheless such compounds are bases and thus could be problematic for the manufacturing of a medicament since their physical behavior can cause problems finding a suitable pharmaceutical form. This could be structural problems like stability, light sensitiveness or deliquescence, but also physical problem e.g. if a compound is not soluble or not suitable for common manufacturing processes like milling.
Now, it has been surprisingly found that the claimed co-crystals or salts of the compounds of formula 1 are fulfilling enough criteria for a pharmaceutical development to manufacture a medicament as above described e.g. a sufficient stability, a controllable deliquescence, a solubility high enough to be useful as a medicament, a solid state useful for standard manufacturing processes or a sufficiently defined crystal form.